After the RegionsAir mess, I didn't think EAS could get any more bizarre.

I was wrong.

Montana-based Big Sky has launched a lowball bid for service to Watertown, Ogdensburg and Massena, aiming to take the upstate NY EAS contract away from Air Midwest/Mesa. They've bid $2 million, as opposed to Mesa's $2.7 million bid which would continue 3x daily B1900 service to PIT.

What makes the proposal really bizarre is that Big Sky proposes to serve the cities through Boston, which means that upstate NY passengers traveling to anywhere west of Massachusetts would have to fly a couple hundred miles backwards. Furthermore, Big Sky only codeshares with NW and AS, offering a combined five domestic destinations from BOS. (Yes, Big Sky says they have a US codeshare, but that's on their Montana flights, and my guess is that Colgan would not look favorably on Big Sky butting in on their US BOS ops.)

EAS just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

USAir A321 service now departing for SFO with fuel stops in CAK, COS and RNO. Enjoy your flight.

Come on now, at least Big Sky isn't offering 3x daily CVG service, an airport they don't serve, as Delta Connection, a codeshare they don't have, on the Saab 340A, an aircraft type they don't operate. Now that would be ridiculous. Oh, wait...

Quoting FCYTravis (Thread starter):Furthermore, Big Sky only codeshares with NW and AS, offering a combined five domestic destinations from BOS. (Yes, Big Sky says they have a US codeshare, but that's on their Montana flights, and my guess is that Colgan would not look favorably on Big Sky butting in on their US BOS ops.)

A few things.

First, GQ flights only carry the HP* code. They do not carry the US* code. It remains up in the air whether US will eventually codeshare on Big Sky flights, but I'd note that US issued a special timetable update in the middle of August which removed all the GQ flights that formerly were in there--hardly a good sign. Of course, it didn't help that GQ discontinued service to GEG and FCA, and HP discontinued service to BIL, leaving only BOI (and single routes at DEN and PDX) as an available gateway for connections, greatly reducing the value of the codeshare.

Whether US could place its code on the GQ flights at BOS even if it wanted to is another matter--and I'm not sure of the answer. It is certain that Colgan is the only independant prop carrier allowed to operate as US Airways Express at BOS under the terms of their contract (much like the Mesa carriers having that right at CLT). Whether US could place its code on GQ flights, which would be operating as Big Sky Airlines and not as US Airways Express, that I couldn't tell you.

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 1):
If so, it doesn't seem like they would have the money to afford to make a "lowball" offer like this one.

MAIR Holdings has plenty of money, and is not in bankruptcy. Its wholly-owned subsidiary Mesaba Aviation is the one in bankruptcy. MAIR Holdings has been very careful to attempt to draw a line between the two, much to the chagrin of Mesaba creditors.

That being said, Big Sky is also not doing well at all, losing money, and I see no reason why MAIR would want to give Big Sky any more of its money than it has to.

At the same time, however, Big Sky does have a big new fleet to pay for (ironically ex-Air Midwest birds leased from Mesa Air Group), and it may find that making lowball EAS bids would be losing less money than operating non-subsidized routes of its own.

The outcome of all this, of course, will likely be as expected--the DOT will disregard what's best for the communities involved, and instead just choose Big Sky to save some money.

That will free up some planes for Air Midwest (I think it's a little more than one plane, but I'd need to check the schedules), which they could use to (re-)bid on some or all of the West Virginia service, but which I think is far more likely to just be redeployed in the Midwest or West.

I'm the expert on here on two things, neither of which I care about much anymore.

In other EAS news, Air Midwest was the only carrier to submit a bid for the Arkansas cities of ELD/JBR/HOT/HRO.

Air Midwest currently serves the communities, with ELD/JBR receiving 2x daily combined trips to DFW, and HOT/HRO receiving 2x daily combined trips to DFW and 1x daily combined trips to MCI. The service all operates as Mesa Airlines, though Air Midwest is attempting to obtain a through-pricing agreement with US Airways at MCI, though the route will probably not come under their US Airways Express codeshare.

Pending the formality of carrier selection, the existing service pattern will not change.

I'm the expert on here on two things, neither of which I care about much anymore.